BOZEMAN - The Montana Policy Institute has been accepted as an associate member of the Montana Newspaper Association.
The Montana Policy Institute hired a full-time, investigative reporter in May. Michael Noyes is a veteran print journalist with a degree from Illinois State University with a concentration in Broadcast Journalism. He is also a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors.
In the first six months, the Institute has looked at government spending on lobbyists, credit card use by public employees in the state’s larger cities, federal stimulus spending, and produced several stories on issues dealing with transparency in government.
“Our organization has made a decision to invest in journalism in Montana,” said MPI President Carl Graham. “We have noticed the trend for news organizations to cut back on the number of reporters, and we think someone needs to be there to pick up the slack. We’re putting our money where our mouth is.”
Non-profit funded journalism is a growing trend across the nation. The Associated Press started a pilot project in July to distribute investigative journalism from non-profit organizations to 1,500 newspapers, according to the summer issue of The IRE Journal. Additionally, the magazine reported that, “Journalists representing investigative reporting organizations throughout the nation gathered in July to start the process of forming a nonprofit investigative news network.”
Graham said while the organization sends out opinion pieces that reflect the views of the Montana Policy Institute, the journalism operation is expected to produce straight, balanced reporting on issues related to government spending and transparency.
“It is great to be a part of an organization that values journalism,” Noyes said. “I have really been impressed with the commitment MPI has shown to keeping the editorial and news operations separate and independent. As a journalist, I hope more organizations will be encouraged to use their resources to fund independent journalism.”
Associate membership in the MNA is the designation for organizations without a print publication. MPI posts original stories to their website and then distributes them to the media by email.